Lombardi Flap Snags Arts Plan

$3 Million From Fau On Hold

February 6, 1998|By JACK ZINK Cultural Affairs Writer

Unlikely as it may seem, fallout over the State Board of Regents' flap with University of Florida President John Lombardi has put a dent in the fund-raising campaign of the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

The center's administration was on the verge of sealing a deal with Florida Atlantic University to pump $3 million into the center's struggling capital campaign.

The money would be used as part of a matching grant formula from the Broward County Commission to pay off the center's mortgage debt.

But the Lombardi contretemps put the spotlight on the regents, who must OK budget requests by universities, and attracted the attention of Florida legislators, who hold the educational system's purse strings.

Outgoing center President Bill Farkas said FAU officials told him recently that they cannot take the lead on the center's behalf for the money. The cash was to be a series of advance payments during the next few years for FAU's use of the center for the next three decades. The school plans a broad series of programs in the wake of a successful repertory theater and lecture series that began last summer.

Board member David Rush, speaking at Thursday's monthly meeting, said FAU President Anthony Catanese told him the school is backing off because of the regents' touchy political situation in the wake of the Lombardi incident.

Board President Charles Palmer said he and Farkas subsequently met with members of the Broward Legislative Delegation and got support for a line item in the state budget for the money, on behalf of both the center and the school. But Palmer and board members are worried about a probable line-item veto by Gov. Lawton Chiles.

Meanwhile, Palmer plans to have a rental contract drawn up for FAU's use of the center. ``I'll have two versions _ one if we get the $3 million in the state budget, and another one if we don't,'' he said, half joking.

The center owes just under $7 million but has nearly $1 million in reserve. The county has pledged $2 million if the center can raise the other $4 million. If the state covers the deal for the FAU programs, the center will need to raise only $1 million from private sources.